Welcome

I hope this blog can be a hub of news, viewpoints and suggestions to keep Exeter moving forward. An open forum is a wonderful opportunity for us all so try and pull your punches now and then! I am launching this blog in what I perceive to be a vacuum of timely, and accurate information on Town business.

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11 responses to “Welcome”

Hi there, found this site when googling something about woodburning stoves and Exeter. Very confusing. Squamscott Oil Ooze? Parking lots? Main Street School? Hot weather on 24th July? Hmm
took me a while to work out that wherever you are it’s not in Devon, England (where I am)

The problem with the town of Exter is that the planning board has no teeth. The ZBA holds all the power and is pushing all the crap to the planning board. If the ZBA would follow the zoning regs that the tax payers approved, we would not have the growing problems we have on recent projects. The ZBA is in the dark and dose not do their homework or, they just do not care about the voters who approved of zoning regs. It time for the ZBA to honor the zone regs and tell developers sorry your projects that do not fit our town regs. I wonder what make them roll on so many projects that just do not fit and cause so many problems for the planning board.

Hey Mike,
I’m wondering what you know about the bees on Epping Rd. Also, looks like we have an Obama-bucks project further down Epping road near the rinks. It was closed off this morning, something about a polution project?
~j

Julie just popped in from the the patio project and saw your comment. The bee trap has been up for some time and my bee knowledge is scanty. On another note the home at that location just sold. I got a postcard from a Realtor with a picture of the house. I looked up the property and its a multi family, 4 units.There is always somebody that want’s to be a landlord, no thanks.
That project near the rinks must be the final fix for the flooding of the funeral home. A larger pipe under that access road. I contend the Rink and it’s tipped parking lot, and undersized detention pond are also to blame . I have been consumed by landscaping projects the last few weeks, back to blogging soon!
What a beautiful day!
Mike

How about a comment on having the 2011 Delibrative Session at our High School instead of the historic town hall. Maybe it doesn’t matter and we should just sell the Town Hall as it may be deemed as obsolete, uncomfortable and “Undesirable Number One” (sorry a little Harry Potter humor)!

Mike: The train was late so Bob Prior presented for me. Here’s the presentation.

The impacts of a 2hr parking time limit on Lincoln St.
Exeter, NH.

Issue: When Downeaster Passriders occupy parking spaces in front of Lincoln St. businesses they limit access for other customers.
Proposal:
Establish a 2hr limit for parking on Lincoln St. from Main St. to the Good Karma Café.
Impacted Constituencies:
The Good Karma, Trackside, and Romeo’s restaurants:
The revenue loss caused by long term weekday parking on the east side of Lincoln St. across from Gerry’s Variety store was calculated with these factors.
• Number of spaces: 13
• M-F Lunch Period : 11:30AM-1:30PM
• Length of stay: 20 minutes
• Parking cycles per period: 6
• Average lunch tab: $8
• Revenue Loss: $624/day, $3120/week

The American Legion Post: The club has an aging membership, some of whom have limited mobility. For these individuals, being forced to relocate their vehicles by as much as 200yds away every 2hours would represent a significant hardship.
Burham’s Laundromat: Patrons of this establishment will be required to re position their vehicles when their laundry takes more than 2 hours to complete.
Lincoln St. Businesses and Employees:
Business owners and their employees parking on Lincoln St. will be required to reposition their vehicles every 2 hours per the requirements of the proposal.
The Garfield, Union, and School St. neighborhood(1):
Parking overflowing into this residential district would result in a public safety response times the case of a fire after a heavy snowfall.
Passriders(2):
A Passrider taking the first AM Southbound train parking in the affected area can anticipate a fine of $50 per day. Should this come to pass there is a very real possibility that the Passriders will rebase their commuting hub to other towns.
Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority [NNEPRA]:
The long term effect of this parking restriction will be to decrease Exeter’s ridership numbers. If the change is large enough, the strategic advantage of having the 2nd largest station throughput, other than Portland, will be lost to Dover.
Parking Data(3):
• Since 2008 the number of Downeaster boardings in Exeter has increased by 13.44%.
• In real numbers this is an annual increase from 44,489 to 49,497 riders.
• The ridership is a 47% vs 53% split between residents and non residents.
• The average daily weekday ridership has risen from 124 to 135.
• The projected daily ridership for 2019 is 153.
• There are 89 spaces in the Lincoln St. train station lot.
• The lot is full after the first weekday southbound AM departure.
• Individuals taking the next southbound train have no alternative but to park on Lincoln St.
• Some Passriders have attempted to mitigate this effect by carpooling and walking.
• When the price of gasoline rises by more than $.10/ga. in a calendar month, ridership increases.
• Failure to remove the snow from the lot after a heavy snowfall forces the riders to park on Lincoln St.
Passrider economic impact in the commercial zones [Epping Rd., Lincoln St. Downtown, and Portsmouth Ave.](4):
Based on research performed in 2011 from a sample size of 64 of 100 Passriders.
• Passriders purchased goods and services from 11 commercial categories; Groceries, Pharmacy, Clothing, Footwear, Hardware, Restaurant, Sports Equip, Hair care, Automotive, Medical, and Bakery.(5)
• The average passrider spend in Exeter was determined to be $58.82 per week.
• The 2013 non resident annual spend was estimated at $211,750.
• The 2013 total spend was estimated at $397,035
• The 2019 projected non resident annual spend is: $ 238,200
• The 2019 projected total annual spend is: $449,950

Conclusion:
Having worked in my father’s restaurant in downtown Exeter in the 60’s, I know full well the dynamics affecting a small business. Within that spectrum, location and access are deciding factors in the level of success that an endeavor enjoys.

The initial result of this proposal may indeed yield positive results for Lincoln St. businesses. However the long term effects will be felt in Exeter’s other economic zones: Portsmouth Avenue, Downtown, and Epping Rd. as passriders rebase their commutes.

The root cause of this situation was the inability, for whatever reason, of the town to come to terms and purchase the property adjacent to the lot, Bridges Moving and Storage. It would seem that the proper focus would be to resolve that impasse and bring it to a successful conclusion.

Absent that solution we have devolved into an unfortunate situation where businesses are pitted against their potential customer base.

MCWard – Action Item:
To prepare and distribute a summary of the Selectmen’s decision and how to comply with it to the Passriders. Draft to be presented to the Selectmen 02/03/2014

5. Downeaster Non Resident Commuter Shopping Preferences Survey [10/26-27/2011] designed by Dr. Nena Stracuzzi Associate Professor Northeastern University and Michael Ward
Authors Note:
The data presented here is correct to the best of my research and knowledge. Any errors are unintentional. Should you discover an inaccuracy please let me know at mcamward@gmail.com
MCWard 01/28/2014